So I got some more news this week about my visa
application and it just gets more and more ridiculous for want of a better
word. It is all in the timing and I
picked the wrong time to apply for my K Class permit and I really don’t think
that I am going to get it before I leave.
This is not such a bad thing, as my application can be asked to be held
until I return in January, which means I will be back in Kenya and getting the
full 24 months that I am paying for. If
it does go through before I leave I will only be using 20 months of the 24
month visa, so reasonably it is not such a bad thing. We have a 3 week window, as it should only
take 3 weeks to issue once they do re-open to get the K Class visa, but I am
now more worried about the news that I got this week from a phone call from my
IA (Immigration Agents).
So it has transpired further this week that the
Immigration department is now basically on full shut down, not just for work
permits but visa renewal as well. The newly
appointed Immigration Director claims that she is restructuring staff and
making improvements at Immigration which is not a bad thing and for the past 2
months, the Work Permit and Citizenship Departments have been on shutdown, the
issue is that now just this week, Special Passes, Multi-Journey Visas and
renewal of Tourist/Business Visas are not been processed. This is going to be a problem for hundreds of
people as their visas come up for renewal in the coming weeks. I am one of them. My tourist visa is due to expire on the 21st
August and if the Immigration department does not come back online, what are
people supposed to do as we literally will be in Kenya illegally. As good as it may be that potential
"improvements" are taking place, such a crucial institution should
not have to be on shutdown for this long as there are a bunch of expats in dire
need to renew their nearly expired visas, obtain work permits/special passes in
order to begin work and so forth. Companies/organizations are also suffering as
a result of expat staff not being able to begin work, there are always
implications for something as important as trying to clean up the bribes and
corruption that seems to be going on.
As reported in The Standard:
“The Immigration
Department has suspended indefinitely the issuance and renewal of work permits
to streamline its operations, The Standard can reveal. Impeccable sources confided that renewal of
work permits and application for new ones was suspended two weeks ago. And it
could take another two weeks before the suspension is lifted. The level of
corruption in this particular department dealing with work permits has been
shocking. The new director wants to clean up the house, the source said. Newly appointed Immigration Director Jane Waikenda
is keen to give the department a new face and last week, she announced new
measures to improve services. All
immigration officers will be required to be in full uniform with their name
tags exposed to the public. This will make it easier for every Kenyan to easily
identify them for expedient services. It will also help in dealing with brokers
masquerading as immigration officers. They have been giving a bad image to the
Immigration Department said Mrs Waikenda”.
I was advised by my Immigration Agent, that since my visa
is near expiration and with the possibility of finding myself "stuck",
they are encouraging all their clients to report the issue to their respective
embassies so that we are "protected", so to speak, from possible
fines for being in the country "illegally". So I sent an email to the
Australian High Commission this morning stating my position and asking for some
advice and I am yet to receive a reply.
But at least I have tried to do the right thing and I really do hope
that they reply back. Surely I am not
the only Australian who will be affected in the coming month?
I did write in a previous post that “my positive spin is that they couldn’t keep the Kenyan Immigration Office
closed for too long-right? Well this is
Kenya (TIK) as it is a BIG revenue business for them. It can’t take that long can it? Can it?”
Well they were famous last words 2 weeks ago and maybe, just maybe I
jinxed everything? So another week passes and we do not know how long
it will be and neither do any of the staff at Immigration as they don’t know when
things will re-open either. However, as
soon as Rebecca receives information, she will inform me immediately. They have
been so good with all their communications to date and I am so so glad that I
have my IA (Immigration Agents) in my corner and are in the know and it is
reassuring to know that they are going through the process with me and are on
top of everything. This is why I am
paying the money to have Rebecca on my team and I couldn’t be happier with all
the progress reports and the stress free-ness of what is the beast of the
Kenyan visa. I do know that if anything
changes I will be notified. So what
turned out to be a week’s hold up is now stretching into week 4 and I now have
the problem of my tourist visa expiring and not knowing what I will do or what
will happen to people in my position once our visas have expired, especially
when we try and leave the country. The
real sucky thing for me is that I will only be ‘illegal’ for 14 days as I will
be leaving the country for my West Africa trip.
14 lousy days…….. I guess we will
wait and see if any comments come through on the NES Facebook and again I am
glad I have my IA in my corner.
The visa debacle continues and takes a new twist with how
do I stay in Kenya legally should they stay in ‘shut down’ for the next 4
weeks……..
No comments:
Post a Comment